Central boys prevail over Southwest

Central held off Southwest in the final minutes for a 70-61 victory Tuesday in a GHSA Region 2-AAA boys game at the Central gym.

The Chargers (3-1, 2-1 region) trailed only once in the game, 2-0. They scored the final nine points of the first quarter to go up 15-4 entering the second quarter.

Central built the lead to as many as 16 points early in the third quarter before the visiting Patriots (4-1, 3-1) steadily cut into the deficit. Southwest came within six points twice early in the final quarter, only to see Chargers post player Kentrevious Jones take command.

The 6-foot-9 Jones scored 17 of Central's final 18 points to kill Southwest's comeback hopes. He had a pair of three-point plays among his total in the stretch.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Jones: Finished with 21 points and controlled the inside for Central in the final minutes.

Antarius McCoy: Scored 17 points for Central, including 13 in the first half.

Nick Hargrove: The Southwest guard led all scorers with 25 points.

Justin Slocumb: Had 20 points and blocked a handful of shots for Southwest. Slocumb had 17 points of his total in the second half.

TURNING POINT

Jones, a starter, entered the game with 6:34 left after a short rest and Southwest within 52-46. Less than three minutes later, the Chargers led 63-51 after he scored 10 of his team's next 11 points. Southwest never came closer than eight points the rest of the way.

OBSERVATIONS

Central never allowed Southwest to score on more than two possessions in a row until the final minute, when the Patriots got the deficit under double figures by scoring the game's final three baskets.

WORTH MENTIONING

Southwest was just 2-for-13 from the field with six turnovers in falling behind in the first quarter.

ALSO

Central's girls (4-0, 3-0) won the opener 59-42, pulling away in the second half after trailing 19-18 at intermission. Southwest (1-4, 1-3) trailed 28-24 with 3:15 left in the third quarter before the Chargers scored the next 13 points to lead 41-24 entering the final quarter.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Central hosts Northside at 6 p.m. on Friday while Southwest visits Peach County at 6 p.m. on Friday.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 12:41 AM with the headline "Central boys prevail over Southwest ."